


A token of love

by ChocoNut



Series: Many ways to say I love you [62]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deviates in 8x4, F/M, Season 8, fluff and confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 16:30:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20428991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: The long night is over and Jaime has yet another gift for his wench.





	A token of love

_ How do I tell her? _

The worst had passed, the lingering uncertainty of whether he’d survive the long night now put to rest. What troubled his mind now, however, was the next complicated situation he was about to face. Minutes had passed, and he continued to stare at the exquisite piece of jewellery in his hand, lost in his worries, wondering if his wish might be granted. 

Blue, like her eyes, and sparkling no less nor more than the depths of those pools and the waters of the isles she called home, the sapphire that sat on the ring reminded him of the wench. The jewel that had once graced the finger of the woman who had let go of his hand when he was a boy, the one who had loved him unconditionally for as long as she lived, it now waited to be passed on to the woman he loved, the woman he’d take as his lady wife.

_ The woman I love… _

The longer he stared at the stone, the more it made him ache for her, and he stood by the fire, recalling their days together, their enmity and animosity, resentment and repulsion that gradually gave way to mutual respect and regard. His mind was transported to memories that had been sown deep in his mind years ago. Before he had known it, the urge to hack her to pieces had vanished, the concern for her honour and life taking deep root within him, her welfare more than just a knightly deed of honour for him. For long he’d failed to comprehend it, and never once did it strike him, what lay beneath the masks he wore. The day he’d stormed off the Red Keep, bidding his sister goodbye and setting off in the quest of the one who truly believed in him had been the turning point of his life; for that was when it had dawned on him that he had, years ago, lost custody of his heart.

Love, it had always been, and it was he who’d been in the dark for years. Love, it had been an act of, when he’d bargained with Locke; and love, it obviously had to have meant, when he'd willingly confronted a beast for her. What else, but love, could his priceless gifts to her have been? His consciousness, despite not recognizing his true feelings, subconsciously he’d always been hers, doing everything he in his power to make sure he didn’t let her down.

This time too, he wouldn’t let her down, he’d lose no more time to tell her how much she meant to him. 

Replacing the lid on the little box he held, he darted towards the door, keen to get his emotions off his chest at the earliest he could. He wasn’t sure if she’d accept his proposal, he wasn’t even sure if he was worthy of her, but try, he certainly would, putting to use every bit of his rapidly waning courage. 

When he was about to leave, what he didn’t expect, though, was her abrupt arrival at his doorstep.

“Ser Jaime,” she said, breathless and flushed. She’d rushed upstairs in a hurry, probably, but the exercise suited her, the glow and the colour it brought to her cheeks bringing in a new appeal to him, tugging at his heartstrings.

“Why aren’t you at the feast?” he asked, confused as to what could have brought her in search of him.

“You weren’t there.” A question it was, and her eyes appeared to be full of many more of them.

“Come in, my lady.” He stepped aside to make way for her. “What brings you here?”

“I came to fetch you--” Her eyes dropped to the little treasure in his hand, and she stopped talking, distracted.

“It belonged to one of my ancestors. Handed down my family across generations, it eventually fell into the hands of my mother,” he explained, handing it to her. “Go on,” he encouraged, when she simply stared at the box, showing no curiosity towards its contents, “open it.” 

She did as told, her eyes doubling in width when she gazed upon the jewel.

“Do you like it?” he asked, his heart fluttering like it never before had as he keenly watched her reaction, every twitch of even the tiniest muscle of her face and every blink of her eyes, trying to gauge the meaning they conveyed, hoping he wasn’t heading towards a heartbreaking disappointment.

A slow nod was her first visible response, and her eyes were still on it, mesmerised by the beauty she held. “It’s the most breathtaking piece of jewellery I’ve ever seen.”

He inhaled deeply, taking in as much air as he could, for what he was about to tell her required all the cooperation his body and mind could provide. “It’s yours.”

In the blink of an eye, her amazement turned into shock and embarrassment. “I can’t,” she hastily refused the gift, attempting to thrust the box into his palm, just as she had done with his sword. 

Whilst he had to fight hard to hide his dismay, he refused to accept her refusal of his gift. “Why not?”

She blinked a few times, a mannerism characteristic of her whenever she was flustered. “Because you’ve already given me so much,” she said, her other hand subconsciously touching Oathkeeper’s hilt. “I can’t take any more, not when I have nothing to give you in return.”

“You’ve given me more than anyone else ever has,” he admitted, “you’ve given me back _myself_, my lady--” His voice choked, he had to slow down every word to make himself coherent. “You’ve helped me uncover my true self. What more could a knight ask for?” Her eyes, though piercing his deeply, bore no sign of rejection, nor the lack of receptiveness. This motivated him to proceed further and mustering all the courage he could, he reached for her hand. “What more could a man ask for, Brienne?”

Her breathing quickened when she tried to summon an appropriate response, but she didn’t jerk away his hand, a sign that meant he still had a chance. “I did nothing, Ser Jaime. A true and honourable knight you are, and that is what you will always be.”

“My honour, unfortunately, had been in a deep slumber for years,” he said, stroking her knuckles, “until I met you.”

Her crimson face, he had only now observed, was the prettiest he’d ever seen, its radiance enhanced by the pale glow in the room. “This ring is your mother’s,” she protested, tearing her gaze off him and glancing at the fire, the reflection of the flames dancing in her vivid eyes, “you can’t just give it away to anyone--”

“It is mine to give to whoever I want to,” he went on, unwilling to let her object, “like my heart.” 

At once, her eyes jumped to meet his. “You can’t possibly mean--” she began, but faltered.

“I do,” he said, searching for the right words, for at no cost did he want to fuck this up. “It is mine to be given to the woman I love,” he reiterated, “and it will always be yours.”

Unblinking, she locked her gaze into his, comprehension slowly hitting her. When she chose to remain silent, he decided to do the talking as had been their routine during their days in the Riverlands, hoping he could take the matter a step further. “My mother wished for it to remain in the family,” he said, recalling what Tywin had told him when he’d thrust the ring upon him, hoping to use it as a tool into emotionally nudging his son towards marriage and the lordship of Casterly Rock. “She wanted it to be worn by a woman worthy of me, a lady, whose husband, I’d be worthy enough to call myself.”

“Ser Jaime--” She tried to speak again, but his name was all she could say, her cracked voice disallowing her to put her thoughts into words.

“Pray accept it, Lady Brienne,” he whispered, kissing her hand like a true knight would, “and do me the honour of accepting my love and my hand.” Her eyes told him that she loved him, but could her lack of a verbal admittance mean something else? Could it, possibly, indicate some sort of inexplicable reluctance on her part? 

“I do know that you can do better than me,” he continued, voicing his biggest insecurity, “but I can’t do without you, my lady,” he desperately admitted, pressing his lips to her fingers. “I might manage to exist for the rest of my life without you, but I cannot _ live _, not until you choose to walk the rest of the path with me.” 

“Here I was,” she said at last, a warm smile appearing on her lips, “thinking you deserved better than me, and someone more beautiful. Nights, I have spent, Ser Jaime, wondering and pondering and tormenting myself if you’d ever return my love. Every time I thought of you, which was most of the time all these years, I was reminded of how things had turned out with Renly--”

Thinking no more and breaking free of all his restraints, he kissed her, his mouth seeking the long-awaited closure in hers as he allowed himself to be lost in her. Leaning into him, she closed her eyes, her admittance, acceptance and surrender to him coming to life in the way she responded - a touch for every touch, her hand reaching for his face as he stroked hers, a kiss for every kiss he tenderly placed on her lips, her feelings for his, and her heart for his. “I’m not Renly,” he reminded her, punctuating every word with a little kiss, “because I love you too.”

“Years back, I never thought I could get over Renly. I never even wanted to,” she said, her fingers teasing his beard. “But only after I happened to meet you did I realize, that he wasn’t the man I loved, but merely a maiden fantasy.”

“Marry me then,” he said plainly this time, taking the ring off the box she still clutched tightly, “Take this token of my love, and give me the gift of your companionship in return. Your heart for mine, my lady.”

“It’s already yours,” she said, biting her lip shyly, “and so am I.”

He slid the ring onto her finger, and it was a perfect fit. Just as she was, for him, and he for her.

**Author's Note:**

> This is, most likely, the last one shot in my Season 7/8 series. Thank you for reading and hope you've enjoyed them!


End file.
